The onset of every Olympics gives rise to bittersweet feelings among India's vast numbers of field hockey fans, with their pride in past gold medal performances accompanied by introspection about what has gone wrong since.

India's disastrous hockey campaign in the London Games ended with a humiliating bottom spot finish out of 12 competing nations, and it prompted a dejected skipper Bharat Chetri to say that the former champions were not good enough to play at a big stage like the Olympics.

India went to top of the table and enhanced their chances of reaching the finals of the Nehru Cup football tournament by thrashing South Asian rivals Maldives 3-0 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Delhi on Saturday.

The joint venture of Patel-Uniexcel Group has taken up the Ranchi franchise in the much-hyped Hockey India League, making it the third of the six teams which will compete in the event starting in January next year.

Triple Olympic hockey gold winner Leslie Claudius died at a private hospital in Kolkata on Thursday after a prolonged battle with cirrhosis of liver, hospital sources said. Claudius, 85, is survived by his wife and three sons.

Competitions alone no longer seem to whet the appetite of Indian sportspersons. There was a time when, for a humble medal in the national championships, athletes would put in all their effort, knowing well it won't give them anything except pride and a bit of appreciation.

Australian coach Ric Charlesworth feels that the Indian hockey team's recent success in international events proves that it is fast improving, but to become a force to reckon with in world hockey, the past masters of the game need to be more organised and disciplined.

Even before the ball could be rolled on the turf in the inaugural edition of the Hockey India League (HIL), beginning January 14, the Delhi Waveriders have suffered a big setback as their key foreign player, Taeke Taekema of the Netherlands, has been ruled out due to a back injury.